1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing method, image processor, storage medium and program.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, color printers have been developed that output a proof or galley proof directly from electronic data in the digitized steps of creating printed matter.
Furthermore, in a typical scenario, delivery costs are incurred in the outputting proofs step creating printing matter. For example, upon receiving a customer's order, a designer outputs a proof from electronic data by using a color printer, and then must deliver the proof to the customer. Accordingly, under the above scenario, designers have a need for sending data to remote color printer, e.g., a customer's printer, for directly outputting a proof on the remote color printer.
In order to cause a remote color printer to consistently output the same output results, calibration is required for the printing system that includes the remote color printer and an associated print server. A method of performing calibration on a printing system includes (1) remotely causing the printing system to patch-output, (2) providing the patch output (result) to a scanner or densitometer, which is a different apparatus from the color printer, by an operator of a remote printing system, (3) reading the patch output by using the scanner or densitometer, and (4) providing data resulting from the reading back to the printing system. In other words, user intervention is required in order to calibrate the printing system.
Several documents disclose technologies relating to the above-described conventional technology. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-324846 discloses a conventional density sensor including, in a holder, a light emitter such as an LED and a photoreceptor such as a photodiode and a CdS, wherein a density of a patch is measured by irradiating light from the light emitter to the patch on a transfer belt and receiving light reflected by the patch by the photoreceptor. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-136219 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,110) discloses a method of correcting a printer profile from a few colorimetry values of patch data.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 07-288704 discloses a printing system having a color printer and a print server, wherein the print server controls the color printer to perform a calibration.
FIG. 31 is a diagram showing a conventional communication network system including a printing system having a color printer and a print server. The communication network system in FIG. 31 includes a remote communication network system where Site a and Site b are connected over a large communication network such as a wide area network (WAN). Site a includes Client a, e.g., a PC and a monitor. Site b, on the other hand, includes a frontend server 3101 acting as a printer controller, a printer engine 3102 of the color printer, which connects the printer to the communication network via the frontend server 3101, and Client b, e.g., including a PC and a monitor. Both Client a and Client b include a central processing unit (CPU) and video random access memory (VRAM) required for monitor display and image processing, and a communication function required for communication over a communication network.
When, in the communication network system, a calibration is automatically performed by remotely controlling the printer engine 3102 in remote Site b from Client a in Site a, the following problems are raised: (1) Client b outputs and prints job data to the printer engine 3102 having the setting of calibration data; (2) In accordance with an instruction from Client a, a calibration is automatically performed in the printer engine 3102; (3) The same job as the printing job at (1) is sent from Client b to the printer engine 3102. While Client b expects that substantially the same print results can be obtained since the a same job is performed by a same printer at (1) and (3), the printed matter resulting from (1) and (3) have different colors since a calibration is performed at (2).
When printing and calibration are performed over a WAN, it is difficult to notify a client located at one site on the WAN of the fact that a calibration has been performed on a printer located at a different site on the WAN. Notification is especially difficult when a calibration is automatically performed on the printer, i.e., calibration is performed without user intervention, as no client in a particular site may recognize that a calibration has been performed.